1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for preventing one or more hack tools from being used in the online game, and, more particularly, to a method for sharing and displaying information about the use of hack tools, such as a program and hardware which have not been permitted for use in the online game, on the computers (client systems) of garners who participate in the corresponding online game.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the wide popularization of ultrahigh-speed Internet, the online game population has rapidly increased and a plurality of online games has been developed. However, the recognition and perceptions of game security are still very weak. Illegal programs in computers are called hacks or hacking programs, and hacks or hacking programs in games are called game hacks. Game hacks refer to programs that are used to fabricate the files or memory of specific game processes.
Such a game hack enables a game user to easily win the game by replacing specific data, such as ability or strength, by increasing the speed of a blow or the number of blows in the case of a fighting game, or by providing macro functions in such a way as to fabricate the memory of the game. Therefore, users want to install game hacks when they play the online games. However, the use of game hacks in the online game may cause problems of breaking down the balance between users and overloading the game server. That is, with regard to the online games, if some users play the game while gaining the upper hand thanks to illegal methods, the balance with other users is lost, and the balance of the entire online game is lost in critical situations, so that a game server becomes overloaded.
Meanwhile, hardware or a program, which users want to use in the online games, includes “an auto mouse” or “an auto macro Program”. The auto mouse is a device which enables the right or left button of a mouse to be automatically clicked, and the auto macro program is a device which enables various mouse operations to be sequentially performed. The auto mouse and the auto macro program are implemented by programs or hardware. When an auto mouse is used in a computer system, a specific user can easily play the game while gaining the upper hand using illegal methods, the balance with other users is lost, and the balance of the entire online games is lost, so that a game server becomes overloaded.
The use of devices which break down the balance with other users, such as game hacks, auto mouse, or auto macro programs, is not permitted in the online games. In the specification of the present invention, all programs and hardware which are not permitted for use in the online games are called “hack tools”. It is apparent that the kind of hardware or programs that have been determined to be hack tools may vary per online game in conformity with the policies of online game suppliers. For example, when a program is permitted in one specific online game but the program is not permitted in other online games, the program may be determined as a hack tool.
In order to restrict users from using hack tools, game providers request users to install security programs together with corresponding games in the client systems of the users. When a user executes such a game program, a game process is executed, and a security process is successively and automatically executed. If the user stops the security process when the game is played, the game process is stopped together with the security process. That is, when the online game is played, a security process is executed together with a game process, and the security process blocks one or more game hack tools which are designated as non-permitted programs for the corresponding online game.
Generally, ‘programs’ and ‘files’ mean the collection of commands sequentially written in order to be executed on a computer, and ‘processes’ refer to programs which are executed on a computer. That is, game programs function as game processes and are executed on client systems, security programs function as security processes and are executed on client systems, and security processes detect and block hack tools executed on client systems.
When users use hack tools in client systems, security processes stop the use of the hack tools. However, it is important for online game suppliers to obtain online game users, so that the online game suppliers do not actively disable users from playing corresponding online games even though users repeatedly use hack tools. Therefore, when game users are blocked because they are using hack tools, they can participate in corresponding online games again without sanctions even if they log in again.
That is, since online game suppliers have not actively implemented sanctions against users depending on the number of times that one or more hack tools are used, the number of times that hack tools are used by some vicious users has not decreased at all, so that well-intentioned users who normally play the games without using hack tolls have suffered.